1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to data storage in computer systems and more particularly to the logical view and access to physical storage in a modular data and storage management system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Existing storage systems require an end user to know and define exactly where data needs to be written and deposited in the storage system. This type of storage system is very hard to use and inherently unscalable as the user""s data grows since the user will not be able to keep track of every storage device in the system. More importantly, every time new storage device(s) are added to the environment, the user will have to redefine how and where archival or backup data needs to be stored.
Many other problems and disadvantages of the prior art will become apparent to one skilled in the art after comparing such prior art with the present invention as described herein.
Various aspects of the present invention may be realized through a computer storage system that includes a processor that supports operation of at least one software application that may be utilized to generate data that is stored in the computer storage system. The computer storage system also includes at least one storage media for storing selected data from the data that is generated. A plurality of storage policies are included where each one of the plurality of storage policies includes directions that the processor must follow for storage of data on the at least one storage media. A storage control interacts with the at least one software application of the processor to select one of the plurality of storage policies and to determine, according to the selected one of the plurality of storage policies, which of the at least one storage media to use for storage of the selected data.
In certain embodiments, the at least one storage media of the computer storage system includes a plurality of storage media, e.g., magnetic tape media, magnetic disk media, optical medial, or other suitable storage media familiar to those skilled in the art. The storage control of the computer storage system may include a manager module that interacts with a media module to compile an index to track the location of the selected data in the at least one storage media. The storage control is often configured to migrate the selected data among the at least one storage media according to the selected one of the plurality of storage policies. The plurality of storage policies may be storage sequences, storage logic, initial storage sequence selection criteria, storage sequence reselection criteria, storage sequence adaptation criteria, etc. The initial storage sequence selection criteria are commonly user directed override, user profile, application, file type, user network location, and available storage space or similar criteria. The storage sequence reselection criteria are criteria such as specific file usage history, file type usage history, user profile, user network relocation, available storage space, added storage media, etc. Finally, the storage sequence adaptation criteria are items such as specific file usage history, user profile, user network relocation, available storage space, added storage media, or other suitable criteria that becomes apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art and viewing the present disclosure.
Various aspects of the present invention may also be realized by a computer storage system having a processor that supports operation of at least one software application in order to store selected data in the computer storage system, at least one storage media for storing the selected data, a plurality of storage policies, each having particular storage guidelines, that are available to determine how data is to be stored in the computer storage system, and a storage control that interacts with the at least one software application of the processor to determine which of the plurality of storage policies to use for storage of the selected data and that stores the selected data according to the selected storage policy. In one embodiment, the storage control of the computer storage system migrates the selected data from one of the at least one storage media to another of the at least one storage media according to the selected storage policy.
Still other aspects of the present invention are realized through a method for storing data on one of a plurality of storage media of a computer storage system according to one of a plurality of storage policies that are defined by a user. The method involves, not necessarily in this order directing a software application to store selected data; examining the selected data for particular characteristics; selecting a particular storage policy that matches the particular characteristics of the selected data; and storing the selected data on a storage media of the computer storage system according to the particular storage policy.
The method may also include migrating the selected data among the plurality storage media according to the particular storage policy.